Deposition mask and method of manufacturing display device using the same

ABSTRACT

A deposition mask includes: a plurality of sub-masks through which deposition material passes to a base layer to form a deposition layer defining a hole therein, each of the sub-masks including: an aperture through which the deposition material passes to the base layer, a total planar area of the aperture corresponding to less than a total planar area of the deposition layer, and a masking surface at which the deposition material does not pass through the sub-mask, the masking surface including a hole-forming portion of which a total planar area thereof corresponds to a total planar area of the hole defined in the deposition layer. The hole-forming portions of the sub-masks have a same shape and planar area as each other, and within each sub-mask, the shape of the hole-forming portion is nested within a shape of the aperture.

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/122,977 filed Sep. 6, 2018, which claims priority to KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2017-0146745, filed on Nov. 6, 2017, and allthe benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. § 119, the disclosure ofwhich in its entirety is incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a deposition mask and a method ofmanufacturing a display device using the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

Among light-emitting display devices, organic light-emitting displaydevices have advantages in being self-emissive and having relativelywide viewing angle, good contrast ratio and fast response speed. Forthese reasons, organic light-emitting display devices are promising fora next generation display device.

A display panel of an organic light-emitting display includes apixel-defining layer having an aperture to expose an anode electrode ofa light emitting element disposed in each pixel. Within the lightemitting element, an organic layer including an organic emissivematerial and a cathode electrode are disposed on the anode electrodeexposed through the aperture of the pixel-defining layer.

The organic layer may further include at least one of a hole injectinglayer, a hole transporting layer, an emissive layer, an electrontransporting layer, and an electron injecting layer. Such an organiclayer may be formed by deposition. For the deposition, a small maskscanning (“SMS”) technique may be used, in which deposition is carriedout while moving a substrate or a deposition source with a mask spacedapart from the substrate.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a depositionmask capable of forming a deposition layer having an island-like holedefined therein, and a method of using the same.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method ofmanufacturing a display device without damaging an organic layer duringa subsequent process of forming a penetration hole by laser processing.

These and other features, embodiments and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become immediately apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art upon review of the Detailed Description and Claims to follow.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, there is provideda deposition mask. The deposition mask includes: a plurality ofsub-masks through which deposition material passes to a base layer toform a deposition layer defining a hole therein, each of the sub-masksincluding: an aperture through which the deposition material passes tothe base layer, a total planar area of the aperture corresponding toless than a total planar area of the deposition layer, and a maskingsurface at which the deposition material does not pass through thesub-mask, the masking surface including a hole-forming portion of whicha total planar area thereof corresponds to a total planar areacorresponding to the hole defined in the deposition layer. Thehole-forming portions of the sub-masks have a same shape and planar areaas each other, and within each sub-mask, the shape of the hole-formingportion is nested within a shape of the aperture.

In an exemplary embodiment, the number of the plurality of sub-masks maybe two or three.

In an exemplary embodiment, the apertures of the sub-masks may havedifferent shapes and/or sizes from each other.

In an exemplary embodiment, each of the sub-masks may further include asemi-transparent portion surrounded by the masking surface, the apertureand the hole-forming portion. The semi-transparent portion may have aplurality of holes or slits defined therein.

In an exemplary embodiment, the semi-transparent portions of thesub-masks may have a substantially same shape and size as each other.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, there is provideda method of using a deposition mask. The method includes: providing asub-mask of the deposition mask through which deposition material passesto a base layer to form a deposition layer defining a hole therein, thesub-mask including: an aperture through which the deposition materialpasses through the sub-mask to the base layer to form less than a totalplanar area of the deposition layer, and a masking surface at which thedeposition material does not pass through the sub-mask, the maskingsurface including a hole-forming portion of which a shape thereof isnested within a shape of the aperture, and providing the depositionmaterial to a same base layer, through a plural number of the sub-mask,to form on the same base layer the total planar area of the depositionlayer.

In an exemplary embodiment, the hole in the deposition layer maycorrespond to the hole-forming portion in shape and size.

In an exemplary embodiment, the hole-forming portions of the pluralityof sub-masks may have a substantially same shape and size as each other.

In an exemplary embodiment, a sum of planar areas of the apertures ofthe sub-masks may be substantially equal to the total planar area of thedeposition layer in a top plan view.

In an exemplary embodiment, the total planar area of the depositionlayer may be a product of a total planar area of the aperture of thesub-mask and the plural number of the sub-mask through which thedeposition material is provided to the same base layer.

In an exemplary embodiment, the providing the deposition materialthrough the plural number of the sub-mask may include aligning thesub-masks on the same base layer to dispose the apertures of thesub-masks non-overlapping with each other.

In an exemplary embodiment, the providing the deposition materialthrough the plural number of the sub-mask may include aligning thesub-masks on the same base layer to dispose the hole-forming portions ofthe sub-masks completely overlapping with each other.

In an exemplary embodiment, the sub-mask may further include asemi-transparent portion adjacent to the aperture, and within thesemi-transparent portion, a plurality of openings may be defined.

In an exemplary embodiment, the semi-transparent portions of thesub-masks may have a substantially same shape and size as each other.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, there is provideda method of manufacturing a display device. The method includes:depositing an organic layer on a base substrate of the display device byusing a deposition mask, the organic layer including an organicluminescent material and defining a hole therein; forming anencapsulation layer on the organic layer; and forming a penetration holeinto which a device external to the display device is inserted, byremoving a portion of the base substrate, the organic layer and theencapsulation layer. The penetration hole is formed inside the holedefined in the organic layer.

In an exemplary embodiment, the depositing the organic layer may includedepositing the organic layer on a same base substrate by providing anorganic layer material to the same base substrate, through a pluralnumber of sub-masks of the deposition mask, to form on the same basesubstrate a total planar area of the organic layer.

In an exemplary embodiment, each sub-mask may include: an aperturethrough which the organic layer material passes through the depositionmask to the same base substrate to form less than the total planar areaof the organic layer, and a masking surface at which the organic layermaterial does not pass through the deposition mask, the masking surfaceincluding a hole-forming portion of which a shape thereof is nestedwithin a shape of the aperture.

In an exemplary embodiment, the hole in the organic layer may correspondto the hole-forming portion in shape and size.

In an exemplary embodiment, the display device may further include aninsulating layer between the base substrate and the organic layer. Theinsulating layer and the encapsulation layer may include an inorganicmaterial. The removing the portions of the base substrate, the organiclayer and the encapsulation layer may further remove a portion of theinsulating layer between the base substrate and the organic layer, at aposition corresponding to the penetration hole.

In an exemplary embodiment, in the forming the penetration hole, theportions of the base substrate, the organic layer and the encapsulationlayer may be removed by using a laser.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, at leastfollowing effects can be achieved:

A deposition layer having an island-like hole defined therein can beformed by using a deposition mask.

By manufacturing a display device by using the deposition mask, it ispossible to avoid exposure of an organic layer to outside the displaydevice during a process of forming a penetration hole in the displaydevice by laser processing, thereby reducing or effectively preventingdamage to elements in the display device.

It should be noted that effects of the present disclosure are notlimited to those described above and other effects of the presentdisclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features of the present disclosure will become moreapparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof withreference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a depositionmask according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a an exploded perspective view for illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of forming a deposition layer having an island-like holedefined therein using the deposition mask according to the invention;

FIGS. 3 to 7 are top plan views of other exemplary embodiments ofdeposition masks according to the invention; and

FIGS. 8A, 9A, 10A, 11A, 12A and 13A are top plan views while FIGS. 8B,9B, 10B, 11B, 12B and 13B are corresponding cross-sectional views forillustrating an exemplary embodiment of a method of manufacturing adisplay device by using a deposition mask according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Features of the invention and methods of accomplishing the same may beunderstood more readily by reference to the following detaileddescription of exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Theinvention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein.Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will bethorough and complete and will fully convey the concept of the inventionto those skilled in the art, and the invention will only be defined bythe appended claims.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing related to another element such as being “on,” “connected to” or“coupled to” another element or layer, the element or layer can bedirectly on, connected or coupled to another element or layer orintervening elements or layers may be present therebetween. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being related to another element suchas being “directly on,” “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to”another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layerspresent. As used herein, the term “connected” may refer to elementsbeing physically, electrically and/or fluidly connected to each other.

Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third,etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components,regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions,layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These termsare only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer orsection from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus,a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed belowcould be termed a second element, component, region, layer or sectionwithout departing from the teachings of the invention.

Spatially relative terms, such as “below,” “lower,” “under,” “above,”“upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description todescribe the relationship of one element or feature to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will beunderstood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompassdifferent orientations of the device in use or operation, in addition tothe orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device inthe figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath”relative to other elements or features would then be oriented “above”relative to the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term“below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The devicemay be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations)and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpretedaccordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, including “at least one,” unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms“comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including,” when used inthis specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof “At least one”is not to be construed as limiting “a” or “an.” “Or” means “and/or.” Asused herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of oneor more of the associated listed items.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It willbe further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and thepresent disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized oroverly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Exemplary embodiments are described herein with reference to crosssection illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealizedembodiments. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations asa result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances,are to be expected. Thus, embodiments described herein should not beconstrued as limited to the particular shapes of regions as illustratedherein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example,from manufacturing. For example, a region illustrated or described asflat may, typically, have rough and/or nonlinear features. Moreover,sharp angles that are illustrated may be rounded. Thus, the regionsillustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes arenot intended to illustrate the precise shape of a region and are notintended to limit the scope of the present claims.

In order to expose a camera module in an active area of an organiclight-emitting display panel, studies are on-going to form a penetrationhole in the active area of the organic light-emitting display panel suchas by laser processing. In forming the penetration hole, side surfacesof an organic layer, are directly exposed to outside the organiclight-emitting display panel. Accordingly outside air, moisture and thelike may be undesirably introduced to the exposed organic layer.

As an alternative approach in forming a penetration hole in the activearea of the organic light-emitting display panel, an organic materiallayer for forming an organic layer may be deposited to form an organiclayer having a penetration hole defined therein. However, forming anisland-like masking surface with a single deposition mask may bedifficult. As an island-like shape, the penetration hole may beconsidered an enclosed opening formed by portions of the organicmaterial layer.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a depositionmask 1 according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the deposition mask 1 may include of a plurality ofsub-masks 1 a and 1 b. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the depositionmask 1 includes two sub-masks 1 a and 1 b. It is, however, to beunderstood that this is merely illustrative. The deposition mask 1 mayinclude three sub-masks 5 a, 5 b and 5 c as described later (refer toFIG. 6), or may include four or more sub-masks.

The sub-masks 1 a and 1 b may include masking surfaces 11 a and 11 b andapertures 21 a and 21 b, respectively. That is, the first sub-mask 1 amay include a first masking surface 11 a and a first aperture 21 a, andthe second sub-mask 1 b may include a second masking surface 11 b and asecond aperture 21 b. The mask 1 and portions thereof are disposed in aplane defined by first and second directions crossing each other (e.g.,horizontal and vertical in FIG. 1). A thickness of the mask 1 andportions thereof are extended along a third direction which crosses eachof the first and second directions.

Each of the apertures 21 a and 21 b may be defined in and/or by therespective masking surfaces 11 a and 11 b in a predetermined shape bypenetrating the masking surfaces 11 a and 11 b. Each of the apertures 21a and 21 b may be defined in an island pattern in the respective maskingsurfaces 11 a and 11 b. As being an island pattern, the apertures 21 aand 21 b are enclosed openings defined by portions of the sub-masks 1 aand 1 b at the masking surfaces 11 a and 11 b, respectively.

Each of the apertures 21 a and 21 b shown in FIG. 1 has a substantiallysemicircular shape, but this is not limiting. The apertures may have asquare shape or a fan shape as will be described later. The specificshape thereof may be variously modified as desired. In addition, thenumber of the apertures defined in each of the sub-masks 1 a and 1 b isnot limited to one. In an exemplary embodiment, the number of aperturesin each of the sub-masks 1 a and 1 b may be equal to or more than thenumber of pixels of a display device for which layers thereof are formedusing the sub-masks 1 a and 1 b of the mask 1.

The apertures 21 a and 21 b may have, but is not limited to, the sameshape and size as each other within the mask 1.

The masking surfaces 11 a and 11 b may block a deposition material frompassing through the sub-masks 1 a and 1 b, so that no deposition layeris formed under the masking surfaces 11 a and 11 b. The apertures 21 aand 21 b may allow a deposition material to pass therethrough so thatthe deposition layer is formed at locations corresponding to theapertures 21 a and 21 b.

The sub-masks 1 a and 1 b at the masking surfaces 11 a and 11 b thereofare solid portions of a material forming the sub-masks 1 a and 1 b, suchthat the deposition material does not pass therethrough at the maskingsurfaces 11 a and 11 b. The masking surfaces 11 a and 11 b of thesub-masks 1 a and 1 b may include and/or be made of, but not limited to,a metal material having a relatively high rigidity, for example, a metalsuch as stainless steel.

Each of the masking surfaces 11 a and 11 b may include hole-formingportions 31 a and 31 b, respectively. Each of the hole-forming portions31 a and 31 b may be a portion of the respective masking surfaces 11 aand 11 b. A shape of the hole-forming portions 31 a and 31 b may bedisposed as protruding into the respective apertures 21 a and 21 b. As“protruding into,” a portion of the shape of the hole-forming portions31 a and 31 b may be nested within that of the respective apertures 21 aand 21 b.

The hole-forming portions 31 a and 31 b of the respective sub-masks 1 aand 1 b may have the same shape and size as each other. In other words,the hole-forming portions 31 a and 31 b may have such a shape and a sizethat they can be completely overlapped and/or aligned with each otherwhen the sub-masks 1 a and 1 b are disposed overlapped with each other.

When the sub-masks 1 a and 1 b are disposed overlapped with each other,the apertures 21 a and 21 b of the overlapping sub-masks 1 a and 1 b areconnected to each other, so as to form a closed shape as an island-likepattern conforming to an overall shape of the hole-forming portions 31 aand 31 b. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 1, when thesub-masks 1 a and 1 b are disposed overlapped with each other, the shapeof the first aperture 21 a and the shape of the second aperture 21 bcome into contact with each other to form an overall circular shapehaving therein an island-like pattern (a circle pattern) conforming tothe hole-forming portions 31 a and 31 b. The shape of the first aperture21 a and the shape of the second aperture 21 b come into contact witheach other at flat edge portions facing each other across the alignedhole-forming portions 31 a and 31 b. A more detailed description thereofwill be given with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view for illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of forming a deposition layer DL having an island-like hole Hdefined therein using the deposition mask 1 according to the invention.A thickness of the mask 1, a base layer BL and layers thereon aredefined in the vertical direction in FIG. 2.

Although FIG. 2 shows the example in which the deposition mask 1 shownin FIG. 1 is used as the deposition mask, it is to be understood thatthe shape or number of the deposition mask is not limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 2, the deposition layer DL may be formed on a baselayer BL by sequentially using the first sub-mask 1 a and the secondsub-mask 1 b. Specifically, the first sub-mask 1 a is placed on the baselayer BL, and then a deposition material DM is provided to the baselayer BL via the first sub-mask 1 a. The deposition material DM passesthrough the first aperture 21 a such that a first deposition layer DLahaving the shape corresponding or identical to the first aperture 21 ais formed on the base layer BL.

Subsequently, the second sub-mask 1 b is placed on the base layer BL inplace of the first sub-mask 1 a, and then the deposition material DM isprovided to the base layer BL via the second sub-mask 1 b. Thedeposition material DM passes through the second aperture 21 b such thata second deposition layer DLb having the shape corresponding oridentical to the second aperture 21 b is formed on the base layer BL,thereby forming a final deposition layer DL.

In doing so, the first sub-mask 1 a and the second sub-mask 1 b may bealigned with each other so that the apertures 21 a and 21 b do notoverlap with each other while the hole-forming portions 31 a and 31 bcompletely overlap with each other. Accordingly, the final depositionlayer DL may not be formed on a portion of the base layer BL that iscovered by the hole-forming portions 31 a and 31 b. Finally, thedeposition layer DL having an island-like hole H defined therein may beformed. That is, the deposition layer DL may be formed in the shape of a(discrete) closed shape having a hole (H) in an island pattern thereinin the top plan view. Edges of the first and second deposition layersDLa and DLb (dotted line in FIG. 2) may contact each other, to form thefinal deposition layer DL as the discrete closed shape having theisland-like hole H defined therein by portions of the final depositionlayer DL.

In addition, the sum of planar areas of the apertures 21 a and 21 b maybe substantially equal to a total planar area of the deposition layer DLin the top plan view.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, thedeposition layer DL formed using the deposition mask 1 is formed not byperforming deposition once, but by forming the first deposition layerDLa and forming the second deposition layer DLb in different operationsfrom each other. Therefore, the first deposition layer DLa and thesecond deposition layer DLb may not be formed as a single piece at asingle time, or may not be in contact with each other partially. Or, thefirst deposition layer DLa and the second deposition layer DLb may havedifferent thicknesses.

In the foregoing description, the material deposition is carried outusing the first sub-mask 1 a and then the second sub-mask 1 b. It is,however, to be understood that this is merely illustrative. The secondsub-mask 1 b may be used and then the first sub-mask 1 a may be used.Alternatively, one of the sub-masks 1 a and 1 b may be used, and thenthe same one mask may be used such as by turning it over to align arespective aperture with an area at which a respective first or seconddeposition layer DLa or DLb is to be formed on the base layer BL.

If one of the sub-masks 1 a and 1 b is used several times, a product ofthe planar area of a respective aperture among the apertures 21 a and 21b and the number of times such sub-mask is used, may be substantiallyequal to a total planar area of the final deposition layer DL. That is,a total planar area of the final deposition layer (DL in FIG. 2) may bea multiple of a total planar area of an aperture of an individualsub-mask, without being limited thereto.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are top plan views of modified exemplary embodiments ofdeposition masks 2 and 3, respectively, according to the invention.

The deposition masks 2 and 3 of FIGS. 3 and 4 are identical to thedeposition mask 1 of FIG. 1 except that the shapes of the hole-formingportions and/or the apertures are different from those of the depositionmask 1 of FIG. 1. Therefore, descriptions of the identical elements willnot be made to avoid redundancy.

Referring to FIG. 3, the deposition mask 2 may include sub-masks 2 a and2 b. The sub-masks 2 a and 2 b may include masking surfaces 12 a and 12b and apertures 22 a and 22 b, respectively. Hole-forming portions 32 aand 32 b of the sub-masks 2 a and 2 b, respectively, may have arectangular shape, unlike FIG. 1. It is to be noted that like in FIG. 1,the hole-forming portions 32 a and 32 b of FIG. 3 may have substantiallythe same shape and size as each other.

Referring to FIG. 4, the deposition mask 3 may include sub-masks 3 a and3 b. The sub-masks 3 a and 3 b may include masking surfaces 13 a and 13b, apertures 23 a and 23 b and hole-forming portions 33 a and 33 b,respectively. Each of the apertures 23 a and 23 b of the respectivesub-masks 3 a and 3 b may have a substantially rectangular shape, unlikein FIG. 1. However, like FIG. 1, the apertures 23 a and 23 b of FIG. 4may also together form a closed figure.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of another exemplary embodiment of adeposition mask 4 according to another exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

The deposition mask 4 of FIG. 5 is identical to the deposition mask 1 ofFIG. 1, except that the shapes of the first aperture 24 a and the secondaperture 24 b are different. Therefore, descriptions of the identicalelements will not be made to avoid redundancy.

Referring to FIG. 5, the first aperture 24 a of the first sub-mask 4 amay have a fan-shape whose center angle is smaller than 180°, while thesecond aperture 24 b of the second sub-mask 4 b may have a fan-shapewhose central angle is greater than 180°. That is, the first aperture 24a and the second aperture 24 b may have different shapes from eachother. Although FIG. 5 shows that the first aperture 24 a and the secondaperture 24 b have the fan-shapes, this is merely illustrative. Theshapes of the first aperture 24 a and the second aperture 24 b are notparticularly limited as long as they have different shapes or sizes fromeach other.

Although the first aperture 24 a and the second aperture 24 b in FIG. 5have different shapes, they can be combined to form one closed figurelike that of FIG. 1 and the like. Specifically, in the example shown inFIG. 5, the shape of the first aperture 24 a and the shape of the secondaperture 24 b come into contact with each other to form an overallcircular shape. That is, a total planar area of the first and secondapertures 24 a and 24 b may correspond to a total planar area of thefinal deposition layer (DL in FIG. 2) formed using the mask 4.

Further, like FIG. 1, the hole-forming portions 34 a and 34 b as aportion of masking surfaces 14 a and 14 b of FIG. 5 may havesubstantially the same shape and size as each other.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of still another exemplary embodiment of adeposition mask 5 according to the invention.

The deposition mask 5 shown in FIG. 6 is identical to the depositionmask of FIG. 1 except that the deposition mask 5 includes threesub-masks 5 a, 5 b and 5 c. The sub-masks 5 a, 5 b and 5 c may includemasking surfaces 15 a, 15 b and 15 c and hole-forming portions 35 a, 25b and 35 c, respectively. Therefore, descriptions of the identicalelements will not be made to avoid redundancy.

Referring to FIG. 6, the deposition mask 5 may include a first sub-mask5 a, a second sub-mask 5 b and a third sub-mask 5 c. The apertures 25 a,25 b and 25 c of the respective sub-masks 5 a, 5 b and 5 c may beconnected to one another when the sub-masks 5 a, 5 b and 5 c areoverlapped, to form a closed figure (for example, a circle).

The deposition mask DL of FIG. 2 may also be formed by sequentiallyusing the sub-masks 5 a, 5 b and 5 c of FIG. 6, like in FIG. 2 with thesub-masks 1 a and 1 b. The order of using the sub-masks 5 a, 5 b and 5 bis not particularly limited herein. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, ifthe aperture 25 a of the first sub-mask 5 a has the same size as theaperture 25 c of the third sub-mask 5 c, only one of the first sub-mask5 a and the third sub-mask 5 c may be used, such as by repeating use ofthe third sub-mask 5 c a number of times (e.g., by turning it over).

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of yet another exemplary embodiment of adeposition mask 6 according to the invention.

The deposition mask 6 shown in FIG. 7 is identical to the depositionmask 1 of FIG. 1, except that the deposition mask 6 further includessemi-transparent portions 46 a and 46 b. Therefore, descriptions of theidentical elements will not be made to avoid redundancy.

Referring to FIG. 7, the sub-masks 6 a and 6 b may further includeportions of semi-transparent portions 46 a and 46 b disposed adjacent tothe apertures 26 a and 26 b, respectively. More specifically, thesemi-transparent portions 46 a and 46 b may be surrounded by the maskingsurfaces 16 a and 16 b, the apertures 26 a and 26 b, and thehole-forming portions 36 a and 36 b, respectively.

The semi-transparent portions 46 a and 46 b may be formed of the samematerial as the masking surfaces 16 a and 16 b, with a plurality of fineholes or slits formed therethrough. That is, the semi-transparentportions 46 a and 46 b includes both solid portions and openings (holesor slits), such as forming a mesh or lattice-shaped structure.Accordingly, the semi-transparent portions 46 a and 46 b may transmitless deposition material therethrough than is transmitted through theapertures 26 a and 26 b.

The semi-transparent portions 46 a and 46 b of the sub-masks 6 a and 6b, respectively, may have substantially the same shape and size as eachother. When the deposition layer DL is formed using the deposition mask6 of FIG. 7, the first sub-mask 6 a and the second sub-mask 6 b may besequentially used, like those used in FIG. 2. In doing so, the firstsemi-transparent portion 46 a of the first sub-mask 6 a and the secondsemi-transparent portion 46 b of the second sub-mask 6 b are alignedwith each other such that they completely overlap with each other.Accordingly, deposition material may be deposited twice at a same areaof the base layer (BL in FIG. 2) which is under the semi-transparentportions 46 a and 46 b. A total thickness and/or density of the portionof the deposition layer DL that formed by twice-depositing depositionmaterial at a same area of the base layer BL, using the semi-transparentportions 46 a and 46 b, may be similar to those of remaining portions ofthe deposition layer DL formed by once depositing deposition materialthrough the apertures 26 a and 26 b.

FIGS. 8A, 9A, 10A, 11A, 12A and 13A are top plan views while FIGS. 8B,9B, 10B, 11B, 12B and 13B are cross-sectional views for illustrating anexemplary embodiment of a method of manufacturing a display device 1000by using the deposition mask 3 according to the invention. Specifically,FIGS. 8A to 13B show a method of forming a penetration hole PH in alayer of a display device 1000 via which an optical module such as acamera module or a sensor is exposed.

Specifically, the display device 1000 may be, but is not limited to, anorganic light-emitting display panel including an organic layer 300.

Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, an insulating layer 200 of the displaydevice 1000 is formed on a base substrate 100 thereof. The displaydevice 1000 may include a switching element such as a thin-filmtransistor element (not shown) with which the display device 1000 isdriven and/or controlled to display an image with light. Elements andlayers of the thin-film transistor element may be disposed between thebase substrate 100 and the insulating layer 200. The insulating layer200 may be an inorganic insulating layer containing an inorganicmaterial.

Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, a first organic layer 300 a is depositedon the insulating layer 200 using a first sub-mask 3 a. The firstorganic layer 300 a is formed in a shape conforming to the firstaperture 23 a of the first sub-mask 3 a. For convenience ofillustration, the deposition mask 3 of FIG. 4 is used as an example.

Referring to FIGS. 10A and 10B and 11A and 11B, a second organic layer300 b is deposited on the insulating layer 200 using a second sub-mask 3b. The second organic layer 300 b is disposed in a same layer of thedisplay device 1000 as the first organic layer 300 a, among layersdisposed on the base substrate 100. As described above, positions of thefirst sub-mask 3 a and the second sub-mask 3 b are aligned with eachother such that aperture 23 a and the aperture 23 b do not overlap witheach other while the hole-forming portions 33 a and 33 b completelyoverlap with each other.

As a result, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, an organic layer 300 havingan island-like hole H defined therein may be formed by the first andsecond organic layers 300 a and 300 b. A shape of the hole H may conformto a collective shape of the hole-forming portions 33 a and 33 b, asdefined between the apertures 23 a and 23 b.

The organic layer 300 may include an organic luminescent material.Although not shown in the drawings, the organic layer 300 may includemultiple layers including one or more of a hole injection layer (“HIL”),a hole transport layer (“HTL”), an electron injection layer (“EIL”) andan electron transport layer (“ETL”).

In FIGS. 9A to 10B, the deposition is carried out using the firstsub-mask 3 a and then the second sub-mask 3 b. It is, however, to beunderstood that the second sub-mask 3 b may be used first and then thefirst sub-mask 3 a may be used, as described above. Alternatively, onlyone of the sub-masks 3 a and 3 b may be used to form a first portion ofthe deposition layer, and then the same one sub-mask may be re-used suchas by turning it over to align the aperture with an area of the basesubstrate 100 at which another portion of the deposition layer is to beformed.

Referring to FIGS. 12A and 12B, an encapsulation layer 400 is formed tocover the organic layer 300, and sub-encapsulation layers 500 and 600are formed to cover the encapsulation layer 400. The encapsulation layer400 and the sub-encapsulation layers 500 and 600 may protect the organiclayer 300 from outside air, moisture and the like. The sub-encapsulationlayers 500 and 600 may include a first sub-encapsulation layer 500 and asecond sub-encapsulation layer 600 which are sequentially stacked on thefirst sub-encapsulation layer 500. The encapsulation layer 400 and thesecond sub-encapsulation layer 600 may include an inorganic material,while the first sub-encapsulation layer 500 may include an organicmaterial. It is to be understood that the materials of the encapsulationlayer 400 and the sub-encapsulation layers 500 and 600 are not limitedthereto. The layers 100 through 600 may be considered a structure of adisplay device 100 before a final penetration hole is formed.

Referring to FIGS. 13A and 13B, a portion of the display device 1000 isremoved to form a penetration hole PH. The penetration hole PH isextended from the base substrate 100 to the sub-encapsulation layers 500and 600 of the display device 1000. An optical module such as a cameramodule or a sensor built in the display device 1000 may be exposed tooutside the display device 1000 via the penetration hole. Thepenetration hole PH may be formed by removing a portion of the displaydevice 1000, for example, by using laser.

The penetration hole PH may be formed inside the hole H defined in theorganic layer 300. That is, the penetration hole PH may be included inthe hole H in the organic layer 300 when viewed from the top. A maximumdimension of the penetration hole PH, such as along the first or seconddirections (e.g., horizontal in FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B), may be smallerthan a minimum dimension of the hole H in the organic layer 300.

In a conventional method of manufacturing display device, if a portionof the display device 1000 is removed with laser without the hole Hformed in the organic layer 300, the organic layer 300 may also bepartially removed by the laser. As a result, side surfaces of theorganic layer 300 may be exposed outside the display device 1000 at thehole H, so that elements of the display device 1000 as well as theorganic layer 300 may be damaged by outside air, moisture or the like.

However, in one or more exemplary embodiment according to the invention,in the process of depositing an organic material and forming the organiclayer 300 therefrom, the hole H is formed in the organic layer 300 inadvance before portions of the display device 1000 are removed, suchthat the hole H of the organic layer 300 is larger than the penetrationhole PH formed by removing the portions of the display device 1000.Accordingly, removal of a portion of the organic layer 300 in asubsequent laser processing operation is obviated such that the organiclayer 300 is not exposed to the outside. In addition, by forming boththe insulating layer 200 under the organic layer 300 and theencapsulation layer 400 above the insulating layer 200 with an inorganicmaterial as described above, the insulating layer 200 can be attached to(e.g., contacting) the encapsulation layer 400 (refer to FIG. 12B) tothereby reduce or effectively prevent permeation of outside air ormoisture to inner layers of the display device 1000.

As mentioned earlier, an island-like hole H may be formed in the organiclayer 300 by using each of a plurality of sub-masks 3 a and 3 b havingthe above-described shape or by repeatedly using a same one of thesub-mask 3 a and 3 b a number of times, to form a complete organic layer300 having the hole H defined thereby.

While the invention has been particularly illustrated and described withreference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the following claims. The exemplaryembodiments should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a display device, the method comprising: depositing an organic layer on a base substrate of the display device by using one or more deposition mask, wherein the organic layer comprises an organic-luminescent-material area and an organic-luminescent-material-free area which is enclosed by the organic luminescent material area; forming an encapsulation layer on the organic layer; and forming a penetration hole by removing portions of the base substrate and the encapsulation layer, wherein the penetration hole is formed inside the organic-luminescent-material-free area.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the depositing the organic layer comprises depositing the organic layer through a plurality of sub-masks of the deposition mask.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein each sub-mask of the deposition mask comprises: an aperture through which an organic layer material passes through the deposition mask to the base substrate to form less than a total planar area of the organic layer, and a masking surface at which the organic layer material does not pass through the deposition mask, the masking surface comprising a hole-forming portion of which a shape thereof is nested within a shape of the aperture.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of sub-masks comprises two or three sub-masks.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of sub-masks comprises a first sub-mask and a second sub-mask, the organic-luminescent-material area comprises a first portion of the organic-luminescent-material area which is deposited through the first sub-mask, and a second portion of the organic-luminescent-material area which is deposited through the second sub-mask, and a first thickness of the first portion of the organic-luminescent-material area and a second thickness of the second portion of the organic-luminescent-material area are different from each other.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first portion of the organic-luminescent-material area and the second portion of the organic-luminescent-material area are not in contact with each other partially.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the first sub-mask comprises a first aperture shaped as a first fan whose center angle is smaller than 180° and the second sub-mask comprises a second aperture shaped as a second fan whose center angle is greater than 180°.
 8. The method of claim 3, wherein the apertures of the plurality of sub-masks have different shapes, different planar areas, or different shapes and different planar areas from each other.
 9. The method of claim 3, wherein each of the sub-masks further comprises: a semi-transparent portion surrounded by the masking surface, the aperture and the hole-forming portion thereof, and within the semi-transparent portion, a plurality of openings is defined.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the semi-transparent portions of the sub-masks have a same shape and planar area as each other.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the depositing the organic layer through the plurality of the sub-mask comprises aligning the sub-masks on the base substrate to dispose the semi-transparent portions of the sub-masks completely overlapping with each other.
 12. The method of claim 3, wherein for the sub-masks with which the total planar area of the organic layer and the penetration hole therein are formed, the hole-forming portions of the sub-masks have a same shape and planar area as each other.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein for the sub-masks with which the total planar area of the organic layer is formed, a sum of planar areas of the apertures is equal to the total planar area of the organic layer.
 14. The method of claim 3, wherein the total planar area of the organic layer is a product of a total planar area of the aperture of the sub-mask and the plurality of the sub-mask through which the organic layer material is provided to the base substrate.
 15. The method of claim 3, wherein the depositing the organic layer through the plurality of the sub-masks comprises aligning the sub-masks on the base substrate to dispose the apertures of the sub-masks non-overlapping with each other.
 16. The method of claim 3, wherein the depositing the organic layer through the plurality of the sub-masks comprises aligning the sub-masks on the base substrate to dispose the hole-forming portions of the sub-masks completely overlapping with each other.
 17. The method of claim 3, wherein the organic-luminescent-material-free area corresponds to the hole-forming portion of the sub-mask in shape and total planar area.
 18. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an insulating layer between the base substrate and the organic layer, wherein the insulating layer and the encapsulation layer comprise an inorganic material, and the removing the portions of the base substrate, the organic layer and the encapsulation layer further removes a portion of the insulating layer between the base substrate and the organic layer, at a position corresponding to the penetration hole.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein in the forming the penetration hole, the portions of the base substrate and the encapsulation layer are removed by using a laser.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein in the forming the penetration hole, the organic layer is not removed by using the laser. 